Kukula Named NWC Men's Golf Student-Athlete of the Week

SALEM, ORE. -- Ryan Kukula (Jr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) of Willamette University has been chosen Northwest Conference Men's Golf Student-Athlete of the Week for his efforts in leading the Bearcats to a first place finish at the Culturame Men's Classic on Oct. 20-21 at The Reserve Vineyards and Golf Club in Aloha, Ore.

Kukula carded a 1-under-par 143 for 36 holes to take first place in the final standings. He carded a 72-71 over the two days, edging WU teammate Clark Wilson (Fr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) by just two strokes.

Three other Bearcats placed among the top six finishers, joining Kukula and Wilson on the All-Tournament team. Willamette won the team championship by 31 strokes with a 36-hole score of 588.

Kukula achieved another 1-under-par score of 143 in the NWC Fall Classic, held at Stone Creek Golf Club in Oregon City, Ore. on Oct. 26-27.

His 5-under-par 67 on Saturday was the top round of the tournament for any of the 44 competitors. He held a five-stroke lead entering Sunday's round and finished the tournament with a four-stroke margin of victory.

He was followed on the leaderboard by Jacob Armelino (Fr., Redding, CA/University Prep) of Willamette, who took second place at 147 (73-74), as Willamette captured the team title.

This is the second consecutive Fall Classic individual title for Kukula, who was named to the All-West Region Team by PING last year, and was chosen as the 2012-13 Northwest Conference Player of the Year. He also won last year's NWC Spring Classic.

The NWC Fall Classic counts for one-fourth of the overall 2013-14 NWC championship, while the NWC Spring Classic counts for another fourth and the NWC Championship Tournament is worth one-half. The Fall Classic completed Willamette's fall schedule.

Ryan Kukula shot a 1-under-par 143 for 36 holes at both the Culturame Men's Classic and the NWC Fall Classic last week.